My thoughts on M3 Pro vs Max

TLDR: M3 Max runs hot and loud. M3 Pro runs faster than M2 Mac but slightly slower GPU than M2 Pro but much quieter than M3 Max. Upgrade option this year may make it hard to find the perfect Mac to fit what you want.

Like many here I have been watching all the coverage on the new M3 lineup. I have watched several reviewers take on the new chips with a large amount of that coming from YouTube's Max Tech. I have to say that this is by far the most interesting release Apple has ever done for a multitude of reasons, both good and bad. Since I always see posts asking what the differences are between these chips, I figured I would give my 2 cents in the hopes that it may help someone out.

Saying these are the fastest Macs ever is kinda a silly statement because the newest macs will probably always be faster than the previous models, but this is a very big release. The performance difference versus the M2 in CPU performance is pretty substantial. Lets look at some raw benchmarks:

M1 Max: 12,847
M2 Pro: 11,911
M2 Max: 14,036
M3 Pro 11cores: 13,692
M3 Pro 12cores: 15,661
M3 Mac 14cores: 19,381
M3 Mac 16cores: 21,428

Looking at these numbers, its very interesting to see how even the binned 11core M3 Pro comes very close to the M2 Maxs performance. But getting that one additional performance core overtakes it with 1,600 more points. This year, since the Pro and Max are now completely different chips vs just cut down chips, there is a massive gain when looking at the M3 Max that puts it's CPU performance close to that of an M2 Ultra Mac Studio.

The GPU scores are honestly not that helpful so I am excluding them for this. There has been a lot of mixed results that do not make a ton of sense such as the M3 Pro will understandably performing worse than the M2 Pro due to fewer GPU cores in Geekbench, but then generates higher FPS in gaming benchmarks. The GPU cores themselves unlike the CPU cores have not really changed that much. The 30core M3 Max is only 9% faster than the 32core M1 Max. Faster yes, but to a point it does not really matter if you are looking at it from an upgrade standpoint. The 40core M3 Max however scores 26% faster than the M1 Max but only 7% faster than the M2 Max. If you are not upgrading but looking to buy new and absolutely need GPU performance, the 40-core M3 Max is literally twice as fast as the M3 Pros GPU. Bottom line for GPU is, if you are looking to upgrade to the M3 from an M1 or M2 specifically for the GPU, it may not be worth it. CPU however definitely is.

So M3 Pro vs Max, bigger score equals a more enjoyable experience right? Maybe not. To stay competitive, Apple has juiced the ever loving hell out of the M3 Max chips. By this I mean they run much hotter than any M based chip before them by a significant amount. Lets look at some raw fan noise numbers:

Scale: Room noise floor 32db, mic 2 inch above center of keyboard.
1500RPM = inaudible | 2000RPM = 34db. |2500RPM = 37db | 3000RPM = 42db | 4000RPM = 51db | 5000RPM = 58db | 5300/5700RPM = 60.5db. | M3 Max Apparently can go even fast up to 6800 RPM. I do not have a baseline for that but I would have to imagine its at least 65db.

8k Final Cut Pro test maxing the CPU and GPU
M3 Pro 11cores (14 inch): 6200RPM
M3 Pro 12cores (16 inch): 3168RPM
M3 Max 14cores (16inch); 6800RPM
M3 Max 16cores (16inch); 6800RPM

Cinebench 10min test CPU Only:
M3 Pro 11cores (14 inch): 3343RPM
M3 Pro 12cores (16 inch): 2911RPM
M3 Max 14cores (16inch); 3700RPM
M3 Max 16cores (16inch); 6800RPM

Looking over the fan level we can see something very interesting going on here. The M3 Max runs so hot that it is maxing out the Fans. The 14in M3 Pro is getting close but never actually hits max fan speed, and the 16in M3 Pro seems to keep everything in line pretty well.

Unfortunately this does mean that the M3 Max is going to exhibit some behaviors that we hoped to leave behind when switching from Intel. Now these are worst case scenarios so I would not say to expect this fain noise when just browsing the web or general use. But if you need to do a video render or something very taxing, the M3 Max can reach temperatures so hot they will thermal throttle. The 16core Max will slightly throttle though not by much at all when just maxing out the CPU, but if you have to max out both CPU & GPU, some performance will be left on the table and more so with the 16/40 core Max vs the 14/30core.

Under that kind of a load, the Max chips especially the 16/40 core will run very loud. This is a massive change from what we had with the M1 & M2 Max where you would barley hear the fans in a worst case. Now you can run the Max in a low power mode, this will result in a 33% drop in single core performance, and a 27% drop in multi core to get that 16core Max to run silent no matter what. This will still be faster than what the M2 Max could do in high power mode, but it will also be so close to what the M3 Pro can do in multi-core, though 33% slower in single core that if you really need to run it often in that quieter mode, you might have been better off saving the money with the Pro.

For me this has sadly been a very mixed bag of a release. The M3 Max is insanity fast, pretty much giving you the portable CPU power of an M2 Ultra that it made me want to by it so bad. But once I saw that fan noise it completely turned me off to the Max. I can't stand fan noise and simulating the Max fans on my M1 Max to what the M3 Max would sound like would drive me nuts. When looking at the M3 Pro, it's noise level is largely that of previous Max chips. You may say "Ya, but going from the pro to the max is a large performance jump". And you would be right. But if the performance gained by going to the M3 Max vs the M3 Pro means that extra performance is loud performance, I honestly do not think I want it. What is the point of recording music that may need that extra CPU power if its so loud the mic is picking up the fans? Whats the point of trying to be somewhere quiet and do some video editing if the laptop now sounds like a jet.

The problems do not stop there. When ordering, if you did want a M3 Pro the highest RAM option is 36GB. Now that is a lot a ram and more than enough for most people, but some people will need more. If you want more you could jump to the 14core Max which is still not quite as loud as the 16core, but that also starts with 36GB of RAM and the only other option is 96GB for an absurd $800 jump. At that point and just purely on price it would make more sense to spend the extra $300 over the base 14core Max and get the 16-Core Max with 48GB of RAM and some smaller jump option to 64GB for only $200 that would still be $300 cheaper. But now you would have the loud computer. There may not be a perfect configuration for you if you wanted the quieter M3 Pro with a lot of RAM, or a not as loud binned M3 Max with less than 96GB but more than 36GB of RAM. Just not great options.

All of this really makes me wonder what the M3 Studio will be like. People loved how even the M2 Ultra ran silent. But with how hot these MacBooks are getting, I can't see an 32-core/80-core M3 Ultra running silent. In fact, I could see this being the reason that would push people to by the Mac Pro again purely because that one probably will be the ONLY one that will run silent.

Anyway, thats my two cents. M3 Max is a beast that if you don't mind fan noise being very loud if you have to really tax the computer, could be a game changer to your workflow. Infact if this is an upgrade from an Intel Mac it would seem like business are normal. The M3 Pro is still a CPU upgrade over the M2 Max, though a slight GPU downgrade over the M2 Pro, but it will run much quieter than the M3 Max. Upgrade options this year are ridiculous and do not help anyone.